"I only have..."

I am sitting in the story of Elijah with the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16). 

The need was great. The man of God needed sustenance and the widow only had meager supplies as the drought brought about a catastrophic famine in the land. 

Yet, God granted a miracle to feed three when the resources were scarce and the provision did not make sense. 

God could have continued using the ravens in a ravine way down south in the Judean desert to feed the man of God, but His eye was upon a widow in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. 

While the widow thought she was preparing her last meal for her and her son, God was preparing a way as only the Way Maker can do. He was sending a hungry prophet to be fed with her meager supplies. His journey would take three to four days walking at faithful pace. We might assume he had no food or water for his journey since the ravens had stopped feeding him and there was a famine in the land. 

His request for water might have been desperately spoken through dry parched lips and a throat so dry it burned to speak. 

She only need share what was her last resource to the man of God to receive the miraculous gift of an always full jar of oil and flour.

Desperation born from different reasons.

God could have fed the widow in the north with ravens or even turtles for that matter and the prophet in the south like wise. But, God likes to make human connections. He loves to build community and relationships. He uses these moments to build character and hope. He knows full well what will build our trust and test our faith. 

Will we go? Will we share? Do we dare? Do we listen? Do we obey? 

Sometimes, we find our provision in meeting someone else's need with our, "I only have..."

What miracle might we be missing by thinking, "I only have...?"

Prayer's dramatic transformation

I have found myself going back and meditating on some oldies, but goodies. I say oldies because these are passages that began a good work in me in my twenties. I have known their work for thirty something years in my life. Like old friends, God will bring them to mind when I need the sword of the spirit to cut through a situation better described as emotion. 

I turned 59 this year. This stage brings on a whole new level of surprise awakened through the physical and emotional changes in womanhood. I keep getting surprised by how intensely my body and emotion can respond to a circumstance. Wozer! I am learning so much more about grace for women in this season. 

The other day Greg and I had a moment only as couples can have a moment. Lol. Well, honestly there was nothing funny about it. He said something. I said something. He said something and then swoosh... there it was. A level of intensity only fit for the front lines. 

As I am losing all reference to sanity or even modeling Christianity, God gave me these two verses. 

I stopped. I inhaled. I exhaled. I prayed. I prayed for him. I prayed for me. I repented for him. I repented for me. I gave God everything right down to calling out of us generational sin that effects communication and all of humanity. My prayer was as intense as the fire in me. 

When I was done my joy returned. My love overflowed. My heart towards Greg was restored. Y'all all of this happened in a span of maybe 3 to 5 minutes. Okay, maybe as much as 8 or 10 based on the distance Greg drove the car.

Why do I share this? It may seem so shameful to some, but here is the deal. I saw God radically change me when I was out of control because I had spent significant time through the years layering the Word of God in my heart. I have seen the power of calling on God in my time of need. I know the joy of His salvation helping me to do hard things. He has helped me before and He will help me again. None of us are perfect. We all fall short of His glory and grace. It is why Jesus came for goodness sake! 

I am not proud of the beginning of those 3 to 5 minutes, but I sure am thankful for the ending of the 8 to 10 minutes. I was transformed by the renewing of my mind. I chose to stop. I chose to pray. I chose to believe there can be a better way. I had faith God can do a good work in me and that He is faithful to complete it.

I am thankful I have a man that loves me despite of me and loves me because I am me. And I do the sane for him.

Maybe, just maybe you might identify with this type of moment. Maybe, just maybe you might need to remember who you are and what you are supposed to do as a child of God just like me. 

Pause. Pray. Give your urgent requests to God in the moment. You might be surprised by joy as He shows you, you can do hard things! 

It is important to be in the Word, to be with Jesus, so we can be trasnformed! 

Shalom, shalom, y'all!

God is "gospeling" me

"This gospel unveils a continual revelation of God's righteousness--a perfect righteousness given to us when we believe. And it moves us from receiving life through faith, to the power of living faith" ( Romans 1:17/TPT).

Oh boy!  Wow!  That verse made me chuckle this morning. In an instant, my mind covered three different moments.  

"Gospel"... most dont know what that means, yet in two different situations this week I heard it used over and over in settings where the simpler phrase of "good news" of Jesus is a better choice. I realized this is something God has revealed to me over time and experience. At first, I needed to hear the word "gospel" so I could learn what it means then I had to learn to share it simply so others could understand. Understanding provides stability. 

Then God flashed through my mind how just this week He was "gospeling" me. You know one of those moments when you are processing something and you need to be reminded of the "good news" of Jesus. In the moment, I had a choice to make. Do I allow the revelation of the truth that Jesus is "good news" even in this?  Or do do I allow unbelief, fear, frustrations, or anger to get in the way of the greater revelation?  Well, I could list a thousand things that could get in the way.

So, I paused and prayed seeking the greater revelation of God's righteousness. Greater revelation of truth provides stability.

I admit this was so much harder when I was younger. The older I get the more I celebrate that the "gospel" unveils continous revelation of God's righteousness.  I simply need to ask to join Him. It doesn't matter what is brought before in story, request, or even my own inadequacies. I can and will rest in His continual revelation of righteousness through the "good news" of Jesus. Recognizing the "good news" of Jesus is embracing truth. Truth sets us free. It provides stability that brings peace. 

So, I am okay when God is "gospeling" me. 

Father, help us to live by the power of faith. We welcome You "gospeling" us with reminders of the good news of Jesus so greater revelation of righteousness can be made known in us and through us. In Jesus' name, amen.

Art calms my heart

Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

When I served as the Dean of Women at Grace University, God used art to help calm my nervous system from all the stress. I learned the power of using art that has no goal except "to be" to bring a calm to my mind. 

I realize you will not see it, but each of these are actually prayers where I used the process to pray through circumstances, feelings, frustrations, and emotions. Once I have spoken them out, I will begin praying characters traits of God and principles of truth from the Word of God over the circumstances, feelings, frustrations, and emotions. 

It has never ceased to amaze me how this prayer process calms me. The cool part is that science is starting to show the truth of this artistic practice through imaging. This process will bypass the critical mind and move into discovery and creativity. 

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Go ahead and try it. 

You might find you like it.

Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”

How lovely is His dwelling place

How lovely is Your dwelling place...

Such a famous line. Full of wonder and awe. 

It makes me ask, "Is this attainable?" "Can I know the beauty of Your dwelling place?"

But then I sat in my comfy chair, opened my Bible, and dwelled for a bit on Psalm 84. All I wanted was to know HIM. Yes, the big H.I.M.... HIM. The Almighty One so lovingly talked about in this hymn. 

It is only 12 verses. Yet, I came up with a long list of truths I discovered about HIM. 

HE IS...

Presence

Present

Strength

Dwelling

Blessing

Generous

History

Covering 

Favor

Grace

Glory

Shield

Protector 

Anointed

Strength upon Strength

Sun & Shield

Listener

Answerer

No wonder the Psalmist said his soul yearns for the presence of the LORD and his flesh cries out for the living God.

As I sat and pondered, I felt His beauty. I was encouraged by His presence. I understood joy and delight basking in His goodness. I celebrated His Strength upon Strength that pours in His grace so that His glory may pour out. His input becoming output. 

I inhale His grace and breathe out His glory.

Hmmmm. Yes, better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere.

May we dwell in His presence today!

Shalom Shalom y'all!

Sit and wait... Jesus is praying.

So, I found in Mark 14:32-42 the simple reference.

I noticed immediately the phrase, "Sit here while I go and pray"  was said to the disciples that He did not take into the garden (v. 32). We don't know why Jesus did not take them into the garden while He prayed, but I speculate it is because there are times that we honestly need just those that will get the heart of the moment. Not everyone can carry the load of suffering and anguish in the moment. They just need to sit while Jesus intercedes. 

Wait.

Jesus took three with Him in His moment of anguish. Yet, even still they couldn't go all the way. He said to them in the garden, "Stay here and keep watch."  To keep watch implies watching like a guardian in a tower to make sure no one enters that should not. 

Wait and Watch.

When Jesus returned from praying He saw they had fallen asleep. You will notice that He spoke to Peter, "Watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation."  There are those we hold to a higher accountability.

Wait, watch, and pray to guard against temptation.

After Jesus' third time to go and pray, He tells them to "Rise! Let us go!"  

Action will come, but it comes after a period of waiting, watching, praying, and guarding against temptation. 

So is this a pattern we should follow? I definitely think it is worthy of noting in our times of crisis.

First, let's focus on who we should take with us when we pray in a time of crisis.

I recognize there will be those that fall into different categories in how involved they will be. 

There are those that will sit near by waiting. 

There will be a few that go and watch as a guardian.

There will be one that you want to pray against temptation because you will have a higher trust and their involvement will require more of them.

But all of them are to rise up when its time to go and face the enemy at hand. 

Through it all Jesus was the one praying.

You might say, "But, Tara that had to do with Jesus' anguish not mine! Why would He care to pray for me? My circumstance isn't that important. He has more important things to focus on." 

So let's focus on our role in a crisis. 

Listen to Jesus' response to those that draw near to God through Him in Hebrews 7:25.

"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

So, yes!  We should sit while Jesus prays. But in our sitting we seek to draw near to God through Jesus. We shouldn't be passive in our sitting. There should be an inner heart that actively draws near to God through Jesus. 

When we dont know what to do.

Sit and wait. 

Jesus is praying.

Stay and keep watch. 

Jesus is praying.

Watch and pray against temptations. Jesus is praying. 

When Jesus says, "Rise up!  Let us go!"

Get up and go!  

Jesus is praying!

It is important to be in the Word. Be with Jesus to be transformed.

Shalom y'all!

Faith that says, "Of course He does!"

Who in your life has a faith that blesses you? 

Have you ever noticed that there are times that you have crazy amazing faith, but the next moment you have none? 

Me, too. I think this is why I love Peter so much. 

This morning, I was reading about how Peter responded to the tax collectors in Capernaum (Matthew 17:24-27). When they approached Peter and asked him if Jesus was paying His temple tax like everyone else, Peter simply believes that Jesus will do the right thing. 

"Of course He does!"

No wondering or pondering just an emphatic, "Yes!"

Peter's faith in Jesus to do the right thing is so encouraging. It gives me hope and strength.

But here is the cooler part. Jesus backed up Peter's faith with an astounding moment. He tells Peter to go to the lake and throw in a hook.

Jesus said, "The first fish that RISES UP will have a coin in its mouth."

As Peter's faith rose up, Jesus rose up to meet the need. 

I want the kind of faith that RISES UP and enjoys a coin rather than a hook in the mouth of the fish. 

O LORD, rise up in us and increase our faith! We will trust Jesus to do the right thing in the given circumstance! In Jesus' name, amen Amen